Missouri health officials say 1,950 people in the state have now tested positive for cyclosporiasis, an increase of hundreds of cases in the ongoing outbreak of the intestinal illness linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce.
The numbers released Sunday afternoon by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services represent a 24% increase from the previous week. Case numbers have gone up steadily this summer as the illness spreads and more people are tested.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 17 states, including Missouri and Illinois, where iceberg lettuce has made people sick. In Illinois, health officials have reported more than 1,200 confirmed or probable cases.
However, doctors are hopeful the outbreak is nearing or has reached its peak. Cyclospora infections typically crest during the summer months and wind down in late August as temperatures begin to fall. Also, the contaminated lettuce at the heart of the outbreak was recalled exactly one month ago, and the Food and Drug Administration believes that most, if not all, of the affected produce is no longer in the food supply.
Cyclosporiasis is a diarrheal illness caused by the cyclospora parasite. It enters the human digestive system through food or water contaminated with human waste. Most people recover on their own, and the illness is rarely fatal.
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